Summer Stuff

The heat wave simmered down, a cool breeze blew in on Monday and Tuesday. . . Wednesday it climbed back up, and now here we are again. Baking.

I just love summer.

The garden is completely finished now! It took about three months total, with a few breaks in between. . . but our side yard looks amazing now. I wish I had some before pictures. . . but all you have to do is imagine some stubbly grass forming a downhill-sloping lawn where this is now:

From the front

from the middle, looking towards the front

 That used to be a rectangular sort of patch for flowers right in front. Some of it is still intact, to the left of the picket fence, but definitely will be redone.

. . . and from the back towards the front.

Deer-proof at last!! Now Megan's sunflowers and Mom's lilies can grow and bloom untainted!
And my morning glories, when I plant them next year. Mom planted a row this year. . . I just hope they can bloom before frost.
Unfortunately, chicken wire will have to go around the inside of the fence. Then, it will also be rabbit-proof. 

Anyway, now we can finish planting and planning.

Oh, and on the first picture, the front of the arbor wasn't quite finished. Now, there's some dirt filled in the empty spaces.

(pictures by Jo, by the way)

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I think I've mentioned my latest dig through my thousands (literally) of photos. I found some I forgot about, but that I really liked:

 Pansies from my Gramma's garden.

 . . . This might just be my favorite out of all my thousands. It was totally by chance that I snapped my camera that morning. I saw the angle of light and the raindrops just as I was getting ready to get in the car and leave. I'm so glad my camera was within reach.

The swan picture was a little blurred, but somehow, I think it actually adds to the photo--even if it's not the greatest in the world. Actually, I was amazed that I snapped some pictures of these swans with my relatively dinky camera. Out of the five hundred I took, I think only four looked okay.

Clearly, swans don't often land within a few miles of home.

And now, I'm pretty sure I've broken some sort of record. Five posts in a row with pictures!